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Lightning Tools Lightning Forms vs. Usabilla (discontinued)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms

    Score9.1 out of 10
    Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
    Lightning Forms is a SharePoint list form design tool that aims to enable users to improve the logic, layout and styling of responsive SharePoint Forms. Lightning Forms offers cascading lookups, customized buttons with actions, repeating lists integration, tab controls, styling and conditional control formatting, calculations, and expressions. These features help users to build business forms within SharePoint and offers an alternative to InfoPath Forms.

    $2,200

    per year per installation

    Usabilla (discontinued)

    Score5.6 out of 10
    N/AUsabilla was a web and app survey tool, developed by the Amsterdam company of the same name, and acquired by SurveyMonkey in March of 2019. The product is no longer available.

    $49

    per month

    Pricing
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsUsabilla (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    Lightning Forms OnPrem
    From $2000
    per year per installation
    Lightning Forms Plus OnPrem
    From $3500
    per year per installation
    Lightning Forms OnPrem Enterprise Edition
    POA
    per year per installation
    Lightning Forms (Online)
    From $2200
    per year per installation
    Form Designer Suite (Online)
    From $4000
    per year per installation
    Lightning Forms Enterprise Edition (Online)
    POA
    per year per installation
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsUsabilla (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsPrices stated are minimum per installation for "stock" products. $2.2 & $4.00 per user/year for each product ion top of base price. Enterprise editions can be amended to suit business needs if deemed necessary, additional costs incurred and TBD. All packages include free technical support. Free upgrades available to latest versions of tool as they are released. (online versions)—
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsUsabilla (discontinued)
    Survey Format & Appearance
    Comparison of Survey Format & Appearance features of Lightning Tools Lightning Forms and Usabilla (discontinued)
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms
    8.2
    1 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Usabilla (discontinued)
    8.0
    4 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Custom logo/branding8.21 Ratings7.94 Ratings
    Survey templates00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Themes00 Ratings6.04 Ratings
    Survey Content
    Comparison of Survey Content features of Lightning Tools Lightning Forms and Usabilla (discontinued)
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms
    8.6
    1 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Usabilla (discontinued)
    8.6
    4 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Changes to live survey9.11 Ratings7.94 Ratings
    Multiple question types8.21 Ratings7.94 Ratings
    Question design help00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Survey Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Survey Reporting & Analytics features of Lightning Tools Lightning Forms and Usabilla (discontinued)
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms
    9.1
    2 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Usabilla (discontinued)
    5.8
    4 Ratings
    33% below category average
    Data export9.12 Ratings5.54 Ratings
    Standard reports9.11 Ratings5.54 Ratings
    Response tracking00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings5.52 Ratings
    Analytics00 Ratings5.54 Ratings
    Survey Administration & Security
    Comparison of Survey Administration & Security features of Lightning Tools Lightning Forms and Usabilla (discontinued)
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms
    9.1
    2 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Usabilla (discontinued)
    7.4
    4 Ratings
    16% below category average
    Access controls9.12 Ratings7.44 Ratings
    Compliance9.11 Ratings7.44 Ratings
    Survey Logic
    Comparison of Survey Logic features of Lightning Tools Lightning Forms and Usabilla (discontinued)
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms
    -
    Ratings
    Usabilla (discontinued)
    6.9
    4 Ratings
    19% below category average
    Survey logic flexibility00 Ratings6.94 Ratings
    Survey Distribution
    Comparison of Survey Distribution features of Lightning Tools Lightning Forms and Usabilla (discontinued)
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms
    -
    Ratings
    Usabilla (discontinued)
    8.4
    2 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Vendor-offered crowdsourcing00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Respondent restrictions00 Ratings6.92 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsUsabilla (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    Jotform
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Jotform
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qualaroo
    Score7 out of 10
    Qualaroo
    Score7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    QuestionPro
    Score9.2 out of 10
    QuestionPro
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsUsabilla (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    2.1
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    2.1
    (3 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    1.9
    (4 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsUsabilla (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Lightning Tools
    Overall, there are many use cases for which Lightning Forms provides a slick, easy to develop and extremely useful solution. Request forms that need to be actioned and inspection forms are the scenarios that we have used them for so far, which have seen a lot of success. We have decided that other scenarios that are perhaps more sensitive, for instance forms that may contain special category data relating to our customers, are less appropriate given the permissions/licensing constraints of both SharePoint and Lightning Forms.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    If we could select 0/10 we would... We would not recommend anyone using this product as it excludes a very important user group, disabled users. If you use this product you will be failing ADA and WCAG 2.1 (EU Directive for public sector websites and mobile apps). In my opinion, you will be vulnerable to lawsuits.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Lightning Tools
    • Simple user interface - users of the forms intuitively aware of how/where to input information. This is in part due to being able to show or hide different questions or areas of the form, and making them required or not, based on previous answers.
    • Low/simple code - building complex forms with automation and multiple dependencies or lookups is relatively easy once you get started. You have the power of JavaScript to use and do some quite clever things if you can get to grips with it - a lot of solutions are only a Google away.
    • As it is based on SharePoint, it integrates perfectly with the rest of the M365 suite. Things like PowerAutomate enhance its functionality even further.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Continuous feedback such as CSAT or NPS score.
    • Monitors feedback trends on recurring surveys through analytics dashboard.
    • In context, in the moment data rather than during a follow up survey.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Lightning Tools
    • The styling of the form can sometimes be slightly awkward to use depending on what you're looking to do. For instance, if I was looking to highlight fields that users have missed (left empty), I would need to set up a validation for that question and then set a style for that particular field for when it is invalid. When you have a large and complex form with lots of dependencies, this is awkward.
    • Support for complex and niche issues is slightly lacking in my experience. I submitted a helpdesk ticket for help with a strange issue I couldn't figure out, which took several weeks to get a response to. Because it is niche, it's more difficult to find an answer by searching the internet. Luckily, knowing there is likely to always be a fix if you find the right place/use the right formula, I manage to resolve the issue with some trial and error.
    • It is disappointing that Lightning Forms does not integrate with the MS Lists app. Having the ability to access the form through the list app would add in a lot of useful functionality, including a better experience for users when taking photos to add as attachments.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Styling and positioning of the 'Feedback' button could be improved with more options provided. Right now it seems very basic.
    • Triggered surveys and popups would also benefit for more styling and control over how the survey is presented to users. Sometimes it can be hard to match your brand to the out-of-box options available. I've seen more flexible versions of this in other providers.
    • Notifications of negative feedback (delivered via email) could be improved. We like to try and take immediate action and the notifications haven't always made this possible. I'd also like to see more notification options added to triggered campaigns and surveys.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Lightning Tools
    It is very user friendly both to me who is building the content (with little background knowledge of coding etc., other than what I have picked up from using products like PowerAutomate, PowerBI, a bit of html etc.) and to end users of varying levels of IT proficiency. This has been extremely important as we have used the forms to make relatively large process changes, and need to have our users on board and seeing that it is actually easier than it was before.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    The interface to configure the questionary is quite easy to use. It helps to give autonomy to marketing teams. Once the initial setup is made (integrating a basic javascript code on your website), you can easily deploy any questionary on any page of your website. Usabilla is a very flexible tool overall.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Lightning Tools
    Some support has been okay, but in one instance of a fairly complex problem, the support team were not able to provide me with a fix within a few weeks, before I was able to find a workaround myself.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    If we could select 0/10 we would... If Usabilla were to fix their accessibility issues we would consider keeping our subscription to them, but as it stands this does not seem possible as Usabilla does not seem interested in making the platform accessible.
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Lightning Tools
    We were using Microsoft Forms, SharePoint Lists and PowerAutomate to attempt to do much of what we are currently doing. Functionality is very limited in comparison. The ability to make questions required based on previous answers was a massive improvement from normal SharePoint List forms and has greatly improved the quality of data. Also just the very visual display and customisation is much better.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    I have Hotjar, Sprig, and Usabilla in my workplace. Usabilla unfortunately has the most limited feature set of the 3 options. The difficulty of administering a Usabilla survey on mobile is a big blocker for my projects. Sprig and Hotjar both allow mobile and allow video recordings (either of a user's screen or a user's webcam for impromptu interviews).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Lightning Tools
    • We changed the process by which site colleagues report repairs on behalf of customers. Instead of emailing them into a shared inbox, they now report them using a lightning form. We have seen a great improvement in the time taken for our team to log the repair issue from the time is arrives with them.
    • We anticipate that streamlining our void property reletting process by using a SharePoint kanban board view with lightning forms (providing a single platform for all things void) will reduce avoidable days vacant and therefore reduce our void loss.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Positive - gave us more insight into our user's journey post purchase.
    • Positive - let us know what problems our users were having with our account portal through moment of truth surveys.
    • Positive - gave us numbers to show to leadership that quantified the digital customer experience.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms Screenshots

    Screenshot of SHAREPOINT MODERN LIST FORM DESIGN
Lightning Forms offers the ability to redesign SharePoint List forms to reflect the business needs. Lightning Forms can be used to transform the SharePoint List Forms such as New Form, Edit Form, and Display Form to meet any business requirements of a business form or business solution. The layout can be improved to suit the needs of the business, add business logic, and include styling and conditional formatting. All of this can be achieved while retaining the modern, responsive SharePoint list forms.Screenshot of THE CONTEXTUAL DESIGN EXPERIENCE
Lightning Forms provides a design experience for SharePoint Modern List Forms with the context of the form being customized. Logic can be tested with existing list items, expressions can be built using existing fields belonging to the list being modified, and changes tested without committing changes to the list. The original design can be restored if needed. Having the context of the SharePoint List within the design tool also means that any environment values such as user profiles and site properties can be used and tested within the design experience.Screenshot of SHAREPOINT LIST FORM DESIGN WITHOUT CODE OR COMPLEXITY
With Lightning Forms, expressions can be built for calculating field values, hiding fields and other controls, adding actions to buttons or the form load experience. The user does not need to be a programmer to accomplish adding business logic. The Lightning Forms expression builder guides the user through expressions. Issues with expressions are explained in the interface and can also be tested without existing from the design experience.Screenshot of ADDING STYLE TO SHAREPOINT LIST FORMS
Modern SharePoint List Forms are responsive, and modern looking. The colours of controls adhere to the theme applied to a SharePoint site. Lightning Tools doesn’t break from that modern experience, but it does allow users to add styling and conditional formatting to any control on a form. This can be used to highlight to users where they have incorrectly completed the form. Tabs can be highlighted, border colours and labels changed based upon conditions to make form completion intuitive.Screenshot of NEW ACTIONS BUILDER
In the new Actions Builder, multiple actions can be dragged into a condition block. The conditions have an ‘If Yes’ and an ‘If No’ section. Therefore multiple actions can be dragged into the relevant sections to save time. The new interface allows users to drag and drop the actions into the sequence that they should run. Drag and drop conditional blocks can be used to save repeating condition rules against each action.Screenshot of MANAGING VARIABLES
Variables can also be used to calculate a value and then retrieve it multiple times. This update saves a lot of time as ordinarily it would need to be completed  for each new form.